UFC cuts Benjamin Brinsa, a German fighter with alleged Neo-Nazi ties

The UFC has cut ties with an undefeated German welterweight with alleged ties to Neo-Nazi groups.

Reports of Benjamin Brinsa‘s alleged connections surfaced not long after the promotion signed him to a fight contract in early August. The 13-0 fighter admitted to being a “football hooligan” as a youth, but denied any involvement in hate groups.

“I am not a neo-Nazi, never have been, never will be,” Brinsa (13-0) wrote on Facebook this past month in response to the reports. “At no time in my life have I ever made any xenophobic, anti-Semitic or racist statements, either in public or in private.”

UFC President Dana White initially said that he would cut the fighter, whose nickname is “The Hooligan,” if the allegations were proven true. On Thursday during a Google hangout conducted by FOX Sports, he said the promotion doesn’t conduct background checks on its signees and moved to investigate after reports surfaced.

“We don’t do investigations on guys from Germany that sign with us,” he said. “What happens is if we sign a guy, and something like this starts to surface, then we dive in and do our homework and then make a decision from there. You can’t really know everybody you sign.

Brinsa’s alleged ties were first reported by the website CagePotato.com, which cited several German media stories that accused the Leipzig-based fighter and his MMA team of extremist behavior and ties to other extremist groups and individuals.

Brinsa’s team, La Familia, was alleged to have several Neo-Nazis in its ranks. The fighter also was said to have worked at a Neo-Nazi music store.

A German MMA promoter removed Brinsa from an event earlier this year upon learning about his alleged ties, according to the report. Shortly after its release, the fighter issued a stern denial of the report’s information on Facebook and stated he was trying to initiate legal action against an unnamed individual he said was conducting a smear campaign.

“Yes, I do have a past as a football hooligan in my youth, but that is a thing of the past as I have been solely focusing on my professional career for the past couple of years,” he wrote.

“I’ve been trying to take legal action against the person that has started the smear campaign against me on the internet, but unfortunately to no avail so far as he hides behind synonyms and publishes his defamation on websites with no legal information. For the past two years this guy has been contacting promoters, sponsors, authorities and journalists trying to prevent me from getting fights and trying to destroy my reputation.”

Brinsa most recently fought in May in Germany, where he earned a first-round submission win over UFC veteran Dan Stittgen.

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